The winning number is zero at this housing site

'If the electricity generated is more than what they need, it goes back to the grid'

Published: 08/18/2012 at 6:57 PM

(Sacramento Bee) Kevin Smith means it when he says he’s “seen the home of the future.”

To the 43-year-old Davis resident and project manager for Northwest Land Park LLC, the home of the future is “net zero electric,” which means each unit will generate as much electricity as it uses.

That’s what Smith wants to achieve for a new 825-unit housing development backed by Ranch Capital, a San Diego investment company. The 32-acre site, south of Broadway and west of Fifth Street, is currently the home of a Setzer Forest Products factory and some old warehouses.